Gilbert Elliott's CSS Albemarle-- Part 2: It Was a Hard Build Indeed

Elliott believed it would be necessary to build his ironclad away from the Union fleet, so it was built on Peter Smith's Edwards Ferry plantation.  It was built on the Roanoke River on dry land.  Elliott wrote "The river rises and falls and it was necessary to locate the yard on ground sufficiently free from overflow, to admit the uninterrupted work for at least twelve months." 

John L. Porter, the man responsible for converting the USS Merrimac into the CSS Virginia in 1861, prepared the vessel's plans and specifications and joined Elliott at Edwards Ferry to supervise construction.  They were soon joined by Captain James Wallace Cooke, the ironclad's designated commander.

Everything in the cornfield shipyard was makeshift, but plantation owner Smith became a willing partner in the enterprise and had three portable lumber mills constructed to cut the sturdy yellow pine timber for the ship's hull.  Construction by a team of white carpenters and slaves from nearby plantations continued night and day in spite of the stifling heat and humidity you get in North Carolina summers.

For many months there was a fear that the 376-ton ship would never launch since the iron needed for its plating was so scarce in the South.  Elliott finally obtained 700 tons of iron from abandoned railroad tracks in February 1864.

--Old B-Runner

February 6, 1865: About a New Ironclad at Wilmington, N.C.

FEBRUARY 6TH, 1865:  Secretary Mallory wrote General Braxton Bragg at Wilmington, North Carolina that Chief Naval Constructor John L. Porter had advised him that a new Confederate vessel could be completed within 90 days.

Machinery for the ship was available at Columbus, Georgia, but Mallory sought assurance that Wilmington would be held long enough for the machinery to be transported and the ship built so that it could get into action.

On the 8th, Bragg replied:  "This place will be held so long as our means enable us.  There is no indication of any movement against it, and our means of defense are improving."

However, Rear Admiral Porter and General Grant had other plans; Wilmington would be evacuated exactly two weeks later.

That ship Mallory was talking about was most likely the CSS Wilmington, which was destroyed on the stocks with the fall of Wilmington.

--Old B-Runner

Talking About the CSS Richmond

From the December 27, 2019, Augusta Free Press "CSS Richmond steams into Pamplin Park."

Pamplin Historical  Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier will welcome speakers Bill Walldrop and Mike Nusbaum Thursday, January 2 at 7 p.m..  They will be speaking before the Petersburg Civil War Round Table about the Confederate ironclad CSS Richmond.

They are divers and underwater archaeologists who have explored the remains of shipwrecks from the American Revolution and Civil War.  Both faced risks while exploring the wreck of the CSS Richmond in the James River by Richmond.

Ironclads revolutionized naval warfare and the CSS Richmond followed the famous CSS Virginia as a Confederate warship.    It was designed by naval architect John L. Porter and was launched May 6, 1862, and immediately had to leave Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia, for its namesake city, Richmond before Federal forces occupied that navy yard.

It was completed at Richmond and joined the Confederate Navy's James River Squadron where it saw action in 1864 and 1865.  The Union breakthrough at Petersburg on April 2, 1865, caused the evacuation of that city and Richmond.  The fate of the Richmond was sealed the next day when she and the other Confederate ships were burned and sunk to prevent capture.

The two speakers have an hour-long video on the internet about their efforts with the CSS Richmond.

I would sure like to be at this meeting.

Well Worth Watching.  --Old B-Runner

A New Confederate Warship for Wilmington?

FEBRUARY 6TH, 1865:  Secretary Mallory wrote General Braxton Bragg in Wilmington that Chief Naval Constructor John L. Porter had advised him that a new Confederate vessel could be completed in 90 days.  Machinery for the ship was available at Columbus, Georgia, but Mallory sought assurance from Bragg that Wilmington could be held long enough for the machinery to be transported and the ship built.

On the 8th, Bragg replied: "This place will be held so long as our means enable us.  There is no indication of any movement against it, and our means of defense are improving."

However, Rear Admiral Porter and General Grant had other plans; Wilmington would be evacuated exactly two weeks later.

Well, Bragg, You Know.  --Old B-R'er

The CSS Wilmington: Not Your Standard Confederate Ironclad-- Part 1

From the Encyclopedia of North Carolina.

I knew about this ironclad, but not much beyond the fact that it was destroyed while incomplete when the Federals captured its namesake city in February 1865.  I came across the name of the ship in the NC Encyclopedia, looked it up in Yahoo! and came across a discussion about it ion the Civil War Talk site under Naval War.  This was quite a different-looking Confederate ironclad than what you normally expect to see.

The CSS Wilmington was the last of three Confederate ironclads constructed at Wilmington during the war.  The first two were begun in the spring of 1862 and proved unsatisfactory.  The CSS Raleigh ran aground in the Cape Fear River in May 1864 and was a total loss.  The CSS North Carolina leaked badly anf became a floating battery, sinking at her moorings in September 1864.

In late May 1864, Confederate Sceretary of the Navy, Stephen Mallory sent naval shipbuilder John L.Porter to Wilmington to build a new ironclad.  That was the CSS Wilmington.

New Boat, New Name.  --Old B-Runner